


The Lakehouse

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kristanna, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Summary: written for @lukin08 on tumblr
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Kudos: 18





	The Lakehouse

Anna paused after Kristoff helped her out of the truck. The only sounds were birds chirping, the breeze through the trees, and water gently lapping the shore. No noise from traffic or planes overhead or the constant sounds of people living together in a city. They had been searching for a place with peace and quiet and this was the first one that actually seemed to fit the bill.

It was a bit longer of a drive than she would have liked, and on some pretty narrow gravel roads, but Kristoff had been smiling the whole way. Anna could not help but feel excited with him, despite her reservations. He had told her it was a fixer-upper and the property was well within their price range, even with all the work that needed to be done to it.

“Come on!” Kristoff said with a wave of his arm as he walked up to the small dilapidated-looking house. He opened the door and disappeared inside. Anna followed him, standing at the entrance and taking a long look over her shoulder at their wooded lakefront surroundings, before stepping over the threshold. 

It smelled of must and decay. Anna instinctively put a hand to cover her nose, worried over breathing in something harmful.

“There’s no mold or anything bad, I promise you. I made sure to check it over very closely. It’s just old.”

She could just make out Kristoff’s form moving towards the back of the space. It was very dark inside. The windows were boarded shut and Kristoff had told her that there hadn’t been power to the property for a decade or so. Anna suddenly hoped there weren’t any wild animals or anything lurking in the shadows.

“And you don’t think this is a tear down?” she asked her husband, following him further into the house.

“No, no, it’s structurally sound. I had Frank come with me yesterday to make sure before I showed it to you. It just needs to be gutted, that’s all.”

_‘That’s all’, he says._ Anna was continually amazing how there was yet to be a scope of work that Kristoff thought was too much. What she hoped he realized was how much longer it was going to take, working on weekends to fix up a place like this when they could easily afford one that was ready to live in. All the other houses they had looked at were closer to the neighboring town sure, and there was less land, not to mention that this was actual lake-front property, but was the extra work and longer drive really worth it? It was definitely the quietest of everything they had looked at so far, but was that enough to dive into something that might cause them endless aggravation?

Anna wandered over to the entrance to the kitchen, following Kristoff. There was a lot of counter space and there was plenty of room for a large table. Perfect for family and friends. Anna rubbed a hand over her swollen belly absentmindedly as she walked through the space to a door at the back. She opened it to a little boot-room encased in windows, making it seem as though it were outside. Well, she supposed she _was_ outside since there was no glass in the windows, but she could appreciate the design. Obviously, an add-on by a previous owner, with a small deck built off of it and enough space for a picnic table and barbeque.

Anna scanned the expanse of trees as she heard Kristoff approach behind her. She realized just how far out into the woods they were, not to see anything besides an endless treeline.

“Look here,” he said, pointing to the floor of the boot room in front them. “I can install a bench seat here with a top that lifts for storage since there’s no closet, and then I can build a boot rack on the other side for all the shoes and whatnot.”

Anna looked down on either side of her, picturing what Kristoff was talking about. She didn’t have an eye like he did but she could imagine what he had in mind.

“And once we have proper insulation and glass in here, we can knock out that door so it’s open to the kitchen. More light for the kitchen and the added view.”

Anna nodded, following him back into the house.

“And in here,” he said walking over the far corner the kitchen, “I want to put more windows in this wall, and a built-in breakfast nook in the corner. Then the dining table would go over there of course, because if we knocked out that wall it would be open between here and the living room. I know how much we both want an open concept.”

Anna nodded, trying again to see what Kristoff did.

“And in here,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her back into the living room, “I was thinking about putting a big rock fireplace on that back wall there, surrounded by built-ins for books and games and stuff,” he turned around and Anna followed his lead. “And both of those front windows need to be replaced, so I want to build them out with a recess for bench seats.”

“That would be lovely,” Anna said. She’d always wanted to have a window seat. She turned around to find that Kristoff was already across the room to a door under the stairs. 

“There’s a powder room here. It’s a little tight because I think they converted it from a storage area, but I can re-work the layout to make it more space efficient. I mean, it is kind of nice to have a bathroom on the main floor, right?”

Anna nodded, poking her head inside the small room. It certainly did have a weird layout with the toilet seeming a little too far under the slope of the stairs, especially for someone tall like her husband. Still, she knew if anyone could make it functional, it was Kristoff.

“Come upstairs,” he said, taking off up the rickety looking staircase. He paused when Anna wasn’t following him. “It’s safe, I promise,” he said tenderly.

Anna smiled and started up the stairs. She trusted him. She always had and always would. He would never do anything to put her and their child in harms way.

At the top of the stairs he led her into the first small room. “I want to build a couple bunk beds in here for our kids and if any of our friends eventually have kids, there’s plenty of room. They can hang out and have fun in their own space if they want. Either that or they’ll all end up camping on air mattresses on the living room floor downstairs,” he laughed.

Anna smiled at the thought as he led her to the door of the next small bedroom. “And a double bed in here for out adult guests of course.”

Anna peeked in the room. It was the same size as the previous one with the window on the opposite wall. It looked a little tight for a Queen size guest bed. She supposed that if they had guests, they’d most likely be outside or downstairs anyway. The beds would only be used for sleeping at night. A simple double wouldn’t be all that terrible.

She followed as Kristoff continued down the hall. “And this is the master,” he said with a big grin as he opened the door and stepped aside. 

The first thing she saw was the lake, glistening in the bright sunlight. It was the only window of the house she hadn’t seen boarded up so far. She understood as soon as she stepped in the room and saw the plywood leaning against the wall that Kristoff had removed it, probably when he was there the previous day with Frank.

Anna walked over to the window and looked out over the expanse of water. They had always dreamed about having a lake-house. They had been talking about it since college. They wanted to have a place to take their kids on weekends in the summer. Somewhere they could swim and fish and learn to waterski. Somewhere they could hike and explore and enjoy the outdoors. It was always something they had wanted to give their children. 

Kristoff came up behind her and pointed down. “I want to put a porch on the front so I was thinking about extending the roof line, then brining a couple beams across here so that we can put in some French doors instead of this window and we can have a small balcony.”

Anna suddenly saw her and Kristoff enjoying a morning coffee on their little deck as the sun rose over the lake while their kids still snoozed in the beds. She saw the built-in breakfast nook in the kitchen, and the beautiful window seats in the front room, and cuddling with her family around the big rock fireplace on cold nights in the fall and winter. She saw their friends coming up for weekends with them, having a cocktail and playing card games while the kids were sleeping. She saw them all laughing around a campfire and splashing on the shore in the hot afternoons…

They had been working their whole lives for this. They had sacrificed an expensive wedding and a three-week trip to Europe for this. This was their _dream_ , and Anna suddenly saw it clear as day.

“Anna?”

Kristoff’s voice was full of concern. She didn’t even realize she had started to cry. She cursed her pregnancy hormones for the millionth time then turned and pushed herself up to Kristoff’s chest. 

“I’m sorry, Anna. I know it’s too much work. Not to mention I guess the baby will be here is a month and we won’t be able to start until the next spring. I just… I’m sorry Anna.”

“No Kristoff. This is it. It’s the one,” she said into his shirt. “It’s perfect.”

“Really?”

Anna wanted to cry harder at the hopeful and happy tone of his voice. 

“I know how run-down it is and it will certainly need a lot of work, but I think I can turn it around.”

“I know you can.” Anna said, hugging him tighter.

*****

Anna rocked their sleeping son as she watched Kristoff from the shade of the bench swing that he had built under the big willow beside the house. He was on the roof, shirtless and dripping sweat in the heat of the summer sun as he worked on the roof line extension so they could have a deck off their bedroom.

He paused, wiping a forearm across his brow before leaning back over to finish hammering the nail into the wood. After a decade together, she was still as turned on by him as the first time they’d ever met. Things had been so hot and heavy in those days. Even though that mindless, lust-filled passion had left them, they were still deeply attracted to each other.

Anna watched him continue to work and thought about all the things she was going to do to him when they were home that evening after their son was asleep. They had been blessed by having a baby that slept incredibly well. By three months old he was sleeping a solid six hours and Kristoff and Anna both thanked their lucky stars that they were able to start feeling like functional human beings again. They both liked to joke that they were so lucky that they would most likely end up paying for it with their next child. 

The lake house was put on hold after the birth of their son but Kristoff was making amazing progress on it once work resumed. His best friend Sven was often there to help and she loved him for it. Sven knew just as well as anyone that he would be spending a lot of future weekends at the lake house with his girlfriend, and not once did he ever complain about spending so many of his current weekends helping Anna and Kristoff build their dream. Anna was just wondering where he was when she heard a truck approach and a short couple of taps of the horn.

“Sorry I’m late,” he called out as he hopped from his truck with a tray of coffee’s and a box of donuts. “There was an accident on the freeway and it took me a bit to get out of town.”

Kristoff came down the ladder and walked over to the plastic lawn table beside the bench swing where Sven was putting down the donuts. He handed Kristoff a cup of coffee as he approached then took a seat on a lawn chair across from the bench swing as Kristoff sat on it beside Anna.

“So, I have some big news,” Sven started while Anna slid her free hand into the donut box and snagged the chocolate one. “Rita is pregnant.”

Anna nearly choked on the bite of donut to hear that Sven’s girlfriend was pregnant. She was thrilled that their best friends were going to have a baby.

“That’s great news!” Kristoff said as he got up and went over to give Sven a hug. 

“That is wonderful!” Anna piped up as Kristoff came back to sit beside her. “How far along?”

“Three months. We were waiting until the first trimester was over before we told anyone.”

“I didn’t even know you guys were trying,” Kristoff said.

Sven shrugged. “We wanted to keep it quiet. We’ve been talking about it for so long we decided that now was the right time. I think it’s mostly because she fell in love with little Spencer.” Sven smiled at the six-month-old in Anna’s arms. “She wants to have someone for Spence to play with,” he said in a joking manner even though they all knew he wasn’t joking. Rita loved kids, and it was no surprise that she wanted to have a baby right away.

“Well, they’ll be pretty close in age,” Anna smiled back at him. “I just know they’ll get along famously.”

“Are you going to find out what you’re having?” Kristoff asked.

Sven laughed. “That’s still up for debate. I want to know but Rita wants it to be a surprise. What are the chances of me winning that one, do you think?”

“Not good,” Anna and Kristoff said in unison and they all burst out laughing.

“It’s going to be an interesting year to say the least,” Sven said, still chucking while Anna popped the last of the donut into her mouth.

“Are you and Rita going to eventually tie the knot then?” Kristoff asked.

Sven nodded. “After the baby arrives and we’ve had time to settle in we’ll plan something small. You know me, I couldn’t care less. I don’t need a marriage certificate to define what we have together, but I know it would mean a lot to Rita and her family. Then after we get married, I just know she is going to want to have another kid. Especially if you guys get pregnant again,” Sven waggled his eyebrows at the both of them.

Anna and Kristoff looked at each other and smiled. They were just talking that morning on the drive up the cabin when it would be a good time to have another kid. They knew they wanted at least two, then they would see where life was taking them before they planned for any others.

Sven looked over to the lake house for a moment. “We’re going to have a lot of fun times when this place is done. I can already hear our kids laughing and playing.”

Anna watched Kristoff’s eyes appraise the cabin thoughtfully before he turned his gaze back to her. “Me too,” Kristoff answered Sven, not taking his eyes from Anna’s. 

“We are going to make some pretty great memories,” Anna added smiling back at Kristoff, thinking of all the times they had talked about that very same thing.

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

Kristoff stepped out onto the deck with two cups of coffee in his hand and passed one to Anna. Anna thanked him and held the cup between her hands. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, painting the lake in a glorious golden shimmer. 

She had never been so content. Her and Kristoff… they were officially living their dream.

It had taken two years to work the lake house into what they had envisioned. During that time things were a struggle on occasion. They spent much of their time working on it while balancing time with the little miracle that came into their lives. Sven and Rita welcomed their daughter a short time later and it was that incredible moment for their friends that had Anna and Kristoff feeling extra sentimental about their future plans for another child.

As it turned out, Anna found out she was pregnant again a month shy of a year after the birth of their son. They were about to tell their best friends that they were having another kid when they were surprised with the news that they were expecting as well. Sven and Rita had just found out but wanted to share the information with Anna and Kristoff – the closest people in their lives – before anyone else. That had been a night of laughter and congratulations and bright sunny outlooks on the future.

Now, as Anna watched the sun clear the horizon across the lake, she realized just how perfect life could be sometimes. All four kids, close in age, slept soundly through the night after a wonderful summer day in the sun and water. Their parents had a wonderful evening of cribbage and a few drinks while they laughed and talked about how great it all really was before turning in to bed themselves.

“This is perfect,” Kristoff said quietly, pulling Anna from her thoughts. 

“It’s everything we dreamed about, isn’t it?” Anna responded.

Kristoff kept his eyes on the lake as he reached blindly for her hand and gripped it gently when Anna offered it to him. “It is,” he agreed. “It really is.”

**Author's Note:**

> written for @lukin08 on tumblr


End file.
